The Community 5 with Liesl Johnson

Liesl Johnson, early literacy coordinator gave credit to Every Child Ready to Read and Utah Kids Ready to Read for her community 5 suggestions.

Talk. Children, even infants, need to hear words. It is helpful to carry on a conversation with your infant. The more vocabulary they hear the better off they will be. It helps them recognize words and has been tied to higher IQs.

Sing. It slows down the words and makes them more recognizable. Songs also use repetition and rhythm. “Music is important for story time,” says Johnson.

Play. Playing is the work of a child. They need to play. It helps them in many ways, and when they are telling the story of their play, they are learning sequencing and vocabulary. It is also fun when the adult joins as a partner in play and allows the child to take the lead.

Write. Begin with the letters of the child’s name. They have the most meaning to the child.

Read. Reading with your child lets them know how to use a book, which way the pages turn, how the words flow across the page. Reading on your own models the behavior, and children do what they see their parents doing.

“Anytime you give the majority of a community opportunities to learn, it makes the community that much stronger,” says Johnson. “We want Salt Lake to be great.”​This article was originally published at examiner.com.